Pierre Nkurunziza

Nkurunziza, Pierre (nkōrōnzēˈzä) [key], 1964–, Burundian political leader; grad. Univ. of Burundi (B.A., 1991). A Hutu whose father was killed (1972) in an ethnic massacre, he taught physical education until 1995 when renewed ethnic strife forced him to flee Bujumbura, the capital. He fought for the rebel Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) and was seriously injured in 1999. Elected head of the FDD two years later, he signed a cease-fire agreement with the government in 2003. Nkurunziza was a minister in the transitional government that followed and was elected president in 2005 and reelected in 2010.